Scarred
by elizabethcohen
Summary: Dramione, Post DH. Hogwarts is offering students an opportunity to re-take their year, and Hermione returns to Hogwarts and finds love in an unexpected place. She finds out they are bound by an ancient spell- they have to work together against the clock .


**Disclaimer: Never have, never will, and don't currently own Harry Potter.**

Hermione Granger had had a bad morning. First, her alarm had been set wrong, and she had taken a shower, gotten dressed, dried and tamed her hair, and was halfway through putting on her makeup when she realized it was two hours earlier than she needed to be up. She examined it and realized it was a joke clock, presumably from the twins, which apparently disregarded whatever time it had been set for and went off whenever it pleased. At this point, she was too awake to go back to sleep, so she read some of her new school books until it was time for breakfast.

Then, at breakfast, Ron spilled his pumpkin juice on himself, and managed to spill it on everyone else at the table as well. She went back upstairs and dug feverishly through her closet, trying to find something else to wear- all her shirts seemed to be in the laundry, when, half an hour later, she realized she could just clean it with magic, which didn't improve her mood any, as she realized she had just wasted a whole thirty minutes of her life, just as she had lost two hours of sleep this morning.

They had all gone to Diagon Alley after breakfast to get new school things, although she already had all of her books- she had gotten them last year before she heard Harry wouldn't be staying at Hogwarts, instead going off to search for and destroy Horcruxes in his quest to kill Voldemort. But she had outgrown all of her robes, and would need some various things. They all managed to get to Diagon Alley unscathed, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had split off from the others to go search for their things.

The boys wanted to go to the broom and Quidditch shop, and she decided to venture down to Flourish and Blotts while she waited. She was browsing through the Arithmancy books when she heard a (unfortunately) familiar voice drifting through the stacks of books. It was a voice that she could have done without knowing, yet it sounded different today. Not as arrogant, cocky, and "better-than-thou"-ish as it had been before. It was the voice of none other than the one and only Draco Malfoy.

She slid down to the floor, her back resting against the stacks behind her, and prayed that he wouldn't come over to where she was. She really didn't want to have to confront him- ever. The war had changed many people, and he was no exception- he'd been a Death Eater, who had turned at the last minute after seeing that his side was losing. Some people thought that he was brave, and had been planning on defecting all along, but she just thought he had showed his true colors- a coward. Sure, they had saved his life, but that didn't mean they'd like him.

Harry had testified for Malfoy's freedom before the Wizengamot, assuring them of his defection, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Harry had always been able to shake off the insults the Slytherins threw at him, but Hermione, even though outwardly strong, took every one to heart. She never could forget how she'd been unwelcome, unliked- the bushy-haired, buck-toothed, know-it-all Muggle-born. She internally laughed bitterly.

She'd never fit in anywhere, no matter where she was. As a child, all the others were scared of her, because she could do those inexplicable things. At Hogwarts, because she was Muggle-born and smart- she couldn't help that she sounded like a Know-it-all, when no one had ever accepted her enough for her to learn social skills.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by hearing herself being addressed. "Reading again Granger?" that horrible voice drawled, his shadow looming over her. He fell (albeit gracefully- like a snake) to the ground beside her, where he peered lazily at the book over her shoulder. She flinched away from his close proximity to her, which did not go unnoticed by him. He laughed. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" He scooted closer to her, so that they were now touching at the arms.

She tried not to think about how fit he must be, judging by the feel of his arms. She scooted away again, now feeling more than a little claustrophobic. She managed a shaky "sod off, Malfoy" before she hit the wall. He had her trapped against the wall now, literally backed into a corner- she was surrounded on three sides in the narrow aisle, and he was blocking her in from the fourth direction.

"Really? Sod off?" he laughed and scooted in closer. "It won't be that easy to get away from me Granger."

She tried, to no avail, to slide away from him. "I-I'll scream!"

"Useless." He smirked. "This area is surrounded by Muffliato, and hardly anyone comes up here anyway." He slid closer, putting his arms on the wall on either side of her head. She let out a faint whimper as she looked up at him with fear-filled eyes. The war had effects on her that no one knew about- everyone was affected, but perhaps she the worst of all. Yes, Ron and Harry had been through a lot, but they weren't Muggle-born. And there were other Muggle-borns who had been targeted, but they weren't part of the Golden Trio. She'd had it the worst of anyone else, and still woke screaming in the middle of the night- she now always cast a silencing charm around her bed so that she didn't disturb any of the other members of the household at the Burrow.

He noticed her terror, and backed away slightly, whispering as he did so, "I won't hurt you Granger. I swear on my life, I'll never hurt you again." He was being held in a trance-like state by those huge brown eyes, full of fear and pain, eyes that had witnessed things no one should ever see, much less a 17-year-old girl.

She noticed his usually cold-as-steel grey eyes soften, until they were more the color of molten silver. She wanted to look away, was screaming in her head to stop, that this was Draco Bloody Malfoy, her tormentor throughout her years of school, who'd been the cause of much of her pain, but she couldn't tear her eyes from his. He leaned in slowly, and gently, delicately, almost as if he was afraid she'd break under too much pressure, brushed his lips against her forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips. She stared at him in confusion, enjoying the sensations, until reality set in for both of them. She pushed him away at exactly the same time he was trying to stand up, and as his arms were right beside her, he grabbed her hands in his automatic response to catch himself. He landed on his back, with her on top of him, and they were once again transfixed by each other before they snapped back, much faster than the first time, and they quickly stood up, Hermione blushing at the compromising position she'd just been in- with Draco Malfoy, nonetheless.

He brushed himself off, trying to regain his dignity, and said in an angry voice, "No one hears of this, understand?" She nodded quickly, not trusting her voice to speak. She'd never dream of telling anyone, as it might somehow come out about how she hadn't pushed him off sooner because she like the feel of his lips on her skin. She mentally shook her head to clear her thoughts, and saw him stalking out of the aisle. She gave herself a second to brace herself, to regain control of her body, before she too stepped out into the real world, where she had to forget about whatever just went on there.

Neither of the two flummoxed teenagers had seen the pair of eyes watching them. The face to which the belonged was bearing a huge smile, and whispered only one word- _"Excellent."_

**So, this isn't your typical Dramione fic! You may think it's moving quickly, but I promise, that was a one-time thing, they'll be different once they get back to school, although they will end up together- it is a Dramione after all! I'm not sure yet exactly how they'll end up together, but I'll figure it out. This is just sort of a tester chapter. I put this up to see what sort of response I'll get, and then I'll write the rest of the story. I'm planning on writing the whole story before uploading it, so it'll be a while before you see any more chapters. I have a very bad tendancy to write a chapter, then post it right away, and then I get stuck in my stories, as I haven't planned out any kind of plot except for that particular chapter. Please leave me a review telling me what you think, what you think will happen (ideas for me lol) and title suggestions, as I really have no idea what's going to happen…I may not even use this chapter in the actual story. We'll see. Au revoir!**


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